Page 49 of Cole

Janice's coffee mug paused halfway to her lips. "What kind of link?"

"It only took about ten minutes of digging. Turns out one of the university board members has financial ties to Northern Summit Resources. Not direct ownership, but investment connections through a holding company." Cole's jaw tightened. "He's probably in bed with some influential people on the board, and that's where the pressure's coming from."

"Of course." Janice set down her mug with more force than necessary. "Of course there's a connection. Why wouldn't there be? This whole thing is just layers of corruption built on top of more corruption."

She started pacing, unable to contain the furious energy coursing through her. The tiny cabin felt even smaller with her circles taking her from the kitchen to the window to the table and back again.

"They think they can just shut me up. Make the problem go away by pulling funding and forcing me out." She gestured sharply with one hand. "Well, they can't. I have the samples. I have the photographs. I have GPS coordinates, and documentation, and everything needed to prove what they're doing."

"Janice—"

"And even if the university caves, even if they pull the grant and terminate my contract, that doesn't make the evidence disappear." She spun to face Cole, her hands clenched at her sides. "I'll submit it myself. I'll go to every federal agency I can find. I'll⁠—"

Cole stepped into her path and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest. The sudden embrace cut off her words mid-rant.

For a moment, Janice stood rigid, her body vibrating with frustrated energy. But then the warmth of him seeped through her layers, the steady beat of his heart against her ear, the solid strength of his arms holding her securely. And instead of making her angrier, she found that his embrace was calming, as though he was taking some of her ire and carrying it himself.

She let out a shaky breath and let herself lean into him, her forehead resting against his shoulder.

"We'll figure this out," Cole said quietly. "You're not alone in this. Logan and the team are working the political angle, finding out who's protecting Penson and how deep the corruption goes. The FBI is getting involved. This isn't over."

"I'm just so angry," Janice admitted, her voice muffled against his shirt. "At Penson, at the university, at all of it. Those animals are dying, and no one seems to care except me."

"I care." Cole's arms tightened slightly. "And you're wrong about no one caring. Your supervisor Marcus cares. The FBI cares, or they wouldn't be investigating. My whole team cares, because you care, and we protect people who matter."

Janice lifted her head to look at him. "I matter?"

"Yeah." His dark eyes held hers, intense and unwavering. "You matter."

The air between them shifted, became charged with something that had nothing to do with mining companies or corruption and everything to do with the way he was looking at her. Like she was important. Like she was worth protecting—not because it was his job but because he wanted to.

Janice's breath caught. She should step back, put distance between them, and maintain some kind of professional boundary even though they'd already crossed so many lines.

But she didn't want to. She wanted to stay right here, in the circle of his arms, feeling safe and valued and seen in ways she'd never felt with Ryan or anyone else.

Finally, Cole released her, but not before he dropped a kiss on her forehead. As he memorized the soft feel of his lips on her skin, his hands lingered on her arms for a moment before dropping away. "We should eat something. Keep our strength up."

"Right. Food." Janice turned toward the kitchen, grateful for the practical task to focus on. "I can make eggs and toast."

They worked together to prepare breakfast, falling into the comfortable rhythm they'd developed over the past day and a half. Janice scrambled eggs while Cole made toast, and they ate standing at the counter.

"Logan's calling back later this morning," Cole said between bites. "He should have more information by then about the federal investigation timeline and what we need to do with your evidence."

"Good." Janice pushed her eggs around her plate. "The sooner we can get those samples to a proper lab, the better. Field tests are fine for preliminary identification, but we need detailed analysis for court."

Cole's phone rang just as they finished eating. He glanced at the screen and answered, putting it on speaker. "Logan. You're on speaker with Janice and me."

"I have news." Logan's voice was crisp and all business. "And I’ll warn you, it isn't going to be good news."

Janice's stomach dropped as Cole growled, "What is it?" She was no longer sure she could handle much more.

22

Cole held the phone with one hand while wrapping his other arm around Janice, pulling her tightly to his side. If bad news was getting dumped on them, he wanted her close.

"Charles Penson has powerful connections at the university level. We confirmed that. But we also found evidence that he's made donations to the university's environmental science department. Substantial donations."

"Blood money," Janice said bitterly.